PSN Plus needed to play games online

£40 a year.
I know people who are already signed up are happy with the "free" games and most people on this site have been happily getting shafted by xbox live for years but I still think this is bad news. PC and PS3 have already shown us that online gaming does not need a compulsory cost, the basics could be free and they could offer the free games and other extras for those who are willing to pay for it.

Well, they could probably make the console £40 more expensive and offer online gaming without the compulsory cost, but there are people who only want to play single-player or local coop so it's not purely a sneaky way to make the PS4 more expensive.

MightyMouse wrote:
Well, they could probably make the console £40 more expensive and offer online gaming without the compulsory cost, but there are people who only want to play single-player or local coop so it's not purely a sneaky way to make the PS4 more expensive.

MightyMouse wrote:
Well, they could probably make the console £40 more expensive and offer online gaming without the compulsory cost, but there are people who only want to play single-player or local coop so it's not purely a sneaky way to make the PS4 more expensive.

£40 per month more expensive though. Ongoing is the key.

Per year, surely? Whilst this will cost more over the lifetime of the console, it's not a vast amount. The issue of how much more expensive they'd have to make it now to accommodate free multiplayer is complicated by the fact that even disregarding inflation you'd prefer money up front to less certain money in the future (ie, most people would prefer £50 today than £100 in 10 years time). The £40 figure is just a rough estimate.

It's still incredible value for money considering what they are giving you. MS by comparison gives you ziltch.
They might have killed Forza 5 with this as well. A lot of people will subscribe and, if I understand correctly, you get Drive Club for free when you do. That makes F5 a really really expensive game.

@PenguinJim
Yes, add them now and they will be available for PS3 and Vita for as long as you keep the PS+ subscription. PS4 though, it's another story. Who knows if they will allow us to play our digital purchases through cloud.

GameOverYeah wrote:
This is something Xbox Live have been doing for 10 years. It has not done harm to people who buy and play Xbox any harm. And that's without free games and discounts. This was always inevitable since PS Plus was implemented.

It's still a great deal. If you don't like, don't pay. Simple. You still have the Wii U and PC has options.

I think it's fair enough. Reliable servers plus maintenance isn't cheap. If it means cross game chat and less server issues, then surely it's a small price to pay really. I'm surprised they maintained the free model for so long.